so im lookin for a new rod and kind of have it narrowed down to the Orvis Clearwater II.....going to go with a 8'6" 5 wt or a 9' 5 wt....what im haveing a hard time deciding is on how many pieces for the rod a 2 or a 4...what are the benifits one over the other.........other than the obivious easier transporting...are there any?

luked: I don't find any difference in the way the two rods casts, so it boils down to portability for me so I like the 4 piece rods. I've had numerous 2 piece rods over the years but traveling with a 2 piece can be a pain, but on the other hand a 2 piece tends to be a little cheaper.

The times I've traveled with a two peice have been nice (just need to modify your baggage). The times I've traveled with a 4 peice have beeen nicer. 4 peice are escpecially nice for backpacking type applications. I've read some reviews that say the 4pc looses a little somthing in action but I'm not even monderately sold on that Idea. If you have no or minimal intent to travel with your rod by plane the 2 pc woudl be just find. If your traveling for fishing regularly then spend the extra bones.

A few years ago, the guys and I could not sell a 2 piece rod. All of our customers wanted 4 piecers. Unless you are really paying attention, you can't tell the difference when casting a 4 piecer. The ferruling technology has gotten so much better that two more ferrules have little effect on rod flex.

Hmmm.....I began using 4 and 3 piece rods a few years ago. I still had my
2 piece rods, but they saw little use. When I bought a 2 piece bamboo
about a year ago, I was reminded of how simple it is to join two halves!
I assemble my 4 piece rods pretty quickly, but the 2 piece is simply simple. I
don't travel by plane, so maybe I should have stuck with 2 piece rods.

here in the uk we are going more on to 3 and 4 piece rods, partly because there seems to be more choice in rod ranges in 3 and 4 piece, but one of the main reasons being its easier to hide a shorter tube in the car boot away from thieving scumbags

here in the uk we are going more on to 3 and 4 piece rods, partly because there seems to be more choice in rod ranges in 3 and 4 piece, but one of the main reasons being its easier to hide a shorter tube in the car boot away from thieving scumbags

Keith: Good point it is much easier to hide a four piece rod tube than a two piece.

yes much easier, and i have had friends who have had their cars broken into just because a passing scumbag has seen a rod tube in the car, even though the tube was empty the damage is still done, its also easier to take a spare rod fishing if its a shorter length and having tried both 2 and 4 piece rods of various makes i cant tell any difference, mabye a casting expert could, so that counts me out...